Conor Daly finished the final round of the 2024 IndyCar season at the Nashville Superspeedway in 10th place, capping a strong finish to the year.
The American driver was brought in to replace Augustin Canapino with four rounds to go and completed a successful attempt to bring the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing car into the Leader’s Circle in IndyCar.
Daly also scored a podium in the first race of the weekend at the Milwaukee Mile, his best result of the partial campaign after an impressive drive to third place.
During the season’s final round, Daly fuel saved a lot to make Juncos Hollinger’s strategy work in the Music City Grand Prix.
Yet despite the impressive end to his season at Nashville by taking 10th place, there was one aspect that the JHR driver wasn’t happy with.
Speaking on his own YouTube channel, Daly has said that competing with the NFL and NASCAR hindered IndyCar’s chances of maximising its audience over the Music City Grand Prix weekend.
Conor Daly believes battling NASCAR and the NFL was the ‘worst possible scenario’ for IndyCar
IndyCar is a championship that is very competitive and offers excellent racing on the circuit, but the series is less popular than others such as NASCAR or the NFL.
Both sports are very popular in America, and IndyCar was up against the Go Bowling at The Glen race as well as the second week of NFL matches.
Despite the added interest around IndyCar’s championship battle between Will Power and Alex Palou, it can be difficult to compete with other sports.
Daly explained while talking on his own YouTube channel that IndyCar having to battle against more popular sports such as NASCAR and the NFL is a bad situation for the series.
He said: “I mean, we were going up against Nascar and the NFL, which is the worst possible scenario for us on a weekend. It is so sad that there is any event like that. It’s a shame that we have to do that.”
Will Conor Daly be on the IndyCar grid in 2025?
Daly is yet to be confirmed for a full-time IndyCar drive ahead of the 2025 season but his strong performances should help him secure a seat.
Stepping in for Canapino and pushing the car into the Leader’s Circle has been very impressive and he is experienced in the series.
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The American driver may have options to stay with Juncos Hollinger Racing although there are other drivers in contention to take the team’s two cars.
IndyCar is also welcoming a new team to the grid in PREMA for next year. The Italian team is moving to IndyCar, having had a superb career in Formula 1’s junior series.
PREMA have now announced Callum Ilott will drive one of their Chevrolet-powered cars, but one spot is still available.